NSST swimmers make waves at state

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
 
The Newcastle Stingrays swim team competed at the annual Wyoming Swimming State Championship in Laramie on the weekend of March 6-8. Bringing a small crew of only six qualifiers, head coach Teresa Gross said everyone dropped time and three out of the six placed in the top 8. 
“I was pleased with the results because everybody cut time,” Gross said.
The five returning qualifiers were Hannah and Ramsey Gross, Gabe and Eli Hoover, Sam Cunningham. The new qualifier was Allie Lunstra. The two youngest swimmers on the team, Allie and Eli, show great potential, according to Gross. 
Eli, 7, was the youngest swimmer on the team, and he placed in the top eight in two of his four events and placed in the top 16 in the other two. He still has over a year to compete in his age group, so there’s a lot of room to grow.
“He’s a really good swimmer,” Gross said. “I expect him to secure more times and be on the podium.” 
Allie Lunstra, 10, achieved two state times for the first time this year, placing fifth in the 50-yard backstroke. 
“She’s looking like she’s going to be a backstroker. Her freestyle looks good too,” Gross said. 
Cunningham and Eli’s older brother, Gabe, both had an uphill battle because they aged up to the boys 11- and 12-year-old category this year, which is “really hard,” according to Gross, because “it’s a significant jump from 10 to 11.” 
Because Gabe’s birthday was March 6 and he aged up the day of state, he had to qualify as an 11-year-old, even though he swam as a 10-year-old all season. Despite the hurdle, he still grabbed three qualifying times, and Gross expects he’ll be on the podium soon. 
“This fall he worked out with high schoolers. He’s
very driven and very competitive,” Gross said. “As an 11-year-old boy, he is one of my more focused and competitive swimmers.” 
Although Cunningham qualified in only one event, he also swam two bonus events, placing in the top 16 in all three, Gross said. He swam the 200-yard individual medley (an event composed of all four strokes), the 200-yard freestyle, and the 50-yard breaststroke. 
“Breaststroke is his best event,” Gross said. “Sam is a great goal-setter, and for being a fairly new swimmer …, has competed in events that many don’t compete in, especially as an 11-year-old.” 
She said he is also very driven for such a young age, and even though Cunningham was away from practice most of the year due to sickness, he still performed well. Throughout the season, he conquered some monstrous events, including the 400-yard individual medley and the mile. 
Gross’ son, Ramsey, competed in his last winter club season. Next year, he will compete in high school, whose season parallels the club season. He cut time in all three of his events, and according to the times posted by the Wyoming High School Activities Association, he is already qualified in the 100-yard backstroke for 3A Boys and is really close in a few other events. 
Ramsey enjoys diving more than swimming, but diving is not offered in club swimming, so he’s really looking forward to competing in high school, Gross said. 
“I’m excited about seeing where he’s going to go with diving,” Gross said. “I
think he’s going to excel in swimming too.”
Overall, the state meet weekend was a success, and Gross said she was glad they were able to squeeze it in before the coronavirus shutdown. She looks forward to seeing what her swimmers will do in the future, she said.